However, for much of the 1970s and early to mid 1980s this consisted of a pair of through long-distance expresses between London Euston and Inverness—the daytime Clansman (via Birmingham New Street) and overnight Royal Highlander sleeper—along with a mid-morning Perth to Motherwell passenger & parcels train and evening northbound return working that started back at Carlisle.

[3] All of these workings had been either withdrawn or diverted by 1987, but by then Strathclyde PTE had introduced a regular local service from Motherwell as an extension of the Argyle Line's Hamilton Circle route (the line through here had been electrified by British Rail in 1981 to allow electrically hauled freight trains to access the nearby Gartsherrie container terminal).

That provided the main service from the station up until the May 2014 timetable change, as Argyle Line trains only called here at peak periods.

Electrification was extended north to Cumbernauld in 2014 as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme upgrade scheme, and thereafter all passenger trains began to be worked by EMUs.

Following a timetable recast in December 2014, Motherwell services once again run on through via the Hamilton Circle to the city's north west suburbs throughout the day.

The main building was disused for many years after the removal of staffing in the 1970s, but was renovated in the early 2000s and used initially as a public house and more recently as commercial premises for an office supplies company.